This invention relates generally to a food product and the method for making such a food product. It is specifically concerned with a snack that is crunchy, yet made without frying or baking and without any additional fats or oils.
In the snack food product art, it is known to use both cheese and popcorn as snacks. It also is known to use cheese-flavored popcorn as a snack. Furthermore, it is known in the snack food product field that pizzas are a common and desired product.
It also is known to use the technology of freeze-drying to preserve food products, such as beef stew, for later use. The freeze-drying process is used to remove the moisture from a product. Currently, such freeze-dried products are sold with the intention that the moisture will be replenished to the freeze-dried product by reconstituting the product with a liquid before consumption.
It also is known in the art that crunchy and salty-tasting foods are desirable as snack food products. Normally, in the snack food art, the crunchy texture of products is derived by frying, commonly in an oil, fat or other shortening, in order to achieve a crunchy texture. Such preparation can add to the fat content of the final product. Further, exposure of fats to the high temperatures encountered in frying oxidizes the fats, resulting in products less desirable in today's health-conscious society.
The existing food products, however, do not provide a crunchy, salty snack food which is a blend of both cheese and popcorn, which requires no refrigeration or preparation, and appears pizza-like.